


Excuses

by neggsi



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mettaton EX, One Shot, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neggsi/pseuds/neggsi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mettaton has to keep making excuses to see Papyrus, because he really shouldn't be in love with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Excuses

Relationships are a silly thing; especially when you’re a gorgeous tv star robot and the person you like is a clueless bag of bones.

Honestly, Mettaton wished that Alphys could have programmed him without emotions sometimes. It was so hard to please a whole crowd when the person you want to please the most is most likely watching from a TV screen. What if he flirted too much with his audience, made it seem like the suggestive comments and constant array of winks were something he gave away like it was nothing.

Okay, admittedly, most of the time Mettaton did flirt with people as if it were nothing. He was a natural flirt, with a talent for making his fans swoon over nothing. But when he was with Papyrus, it was different.

The compliments were much more genuine, the atmosphere in general was much more relaxed, and Mettaton could feel his soul flutter around inside his robotic body every time his comments got the skeleton stumbling over his words.

Being the big star that he was, Mettaton didn’t get to see Papyrus as much as he wanted to. In fact, the only reason he got to see the skeleton at all was because he was always making excuses to go see Alphys when Papyrus just happened to be there visiting Undyne. He’d gone as far as to tear his own arm off once, just so he had an excuse to go.  
Of course, it didn’t take long for the couple to notice why he was suddenly visiting so often. “You like him!” Undyne had gloated, her wide grin showing off each sharp yellow tooth in her mouth. “Mettaton has a crush on my little Pappy!”

“Darling, I’m a star!” he had tried to protest. “I hardly have time for a school yard crush!”

“B-But Mettaton, you see, you didn’t even need a service,” Alphys had bravely pointed out, shrinking slightly behind the leg of her much taller girlfriend. “You won’t need one for m-months.”

The robot had scratched his metallic fingers against the back of his neck, giving a well practiced laugh. “I have to stay in top shape for my show, dear,” he reminded her, sure the argument was won. 

The girls continued to protest however, and he left Alphys’ lab with a headache.

By the next time he’d found an excuse to visit, it seemed everyone around him knew except the skeleton himself. He had recieved an anonymous text message warning him to be good to Papyrus, Blooky had attempted to get his cousin to open up about things, and even the burger boy that worked at his hotel had snickered about him being love sick.

Of course, no matter how many people knew his secret, Mettaton would not tell Papyrus, under any circumstances.

He didn’t doubt his affection for the skeleton was reciprocated. After all, Papyrus was always greeting the robot with a tight hug, eagerly talking about himself and his day as if Mettaton was the most important person to tell. The pair could talk for hours on end, and on one occasion ended up staying the night in Alphys’ lab simply because Papyrus had forgotten to leave. That night, they’d even spent hours cuddling, as Mettaton left himself on a spare bed to charge. They could have slept separately, but there had been a silent agreement between the pair that they would enjoy each other’s company better while spooning.

If Papyrus were anyone else, the pair would have been in a happy relationship. They would have spent endless nights together, talking about everything and nothing at all. Mettaton would have been dropping in for surprise visits like they were going out of style, just for a chance to see the skeleton his soul throbbed for.

Except, Papyrus wasn’t just anyone.

Very early on, Papyrus had confessed to Mettaton that he struggled with romantic attraction. It was almost as if he didn’t feel it at all. Sure, he was capable of love and affection- Mettaton recieved plenty of that. It was just that, for Papyrus, that love was strictly platonic. Even if, by some miracle, those feelings were romantic, Papyrus clearly struggled to understand the difference. It wasn’t that he couldn’t feel romantic love, Papyrus had sworn that. He just got confused about his feelings far too often.

It was to save his own heart really, that Mettaton didn’t spend more time with Papyrus. When his feelings were romantic and he assumed Papyrus’ were platonic, he couldn’t bare to let himself fall any harder.

Yet there he stood, arm purposely ripped off as he stood outside the large white doors of Alphys’ lab. He fiddled nervously as the doors slid open, a familiar scaly face looking up to greet him.

“Again?” she sighed, giving the robot a half hearted smile.

“Alphys, darling! All I did was host a bowling television special, and my arm just popped right off!” he lied, giving a slightly nervous laugh.

“IS THAT METTATON?” came an overly excited voice, and before he could comprehend what was happening his favourite dorky skeleton leaped out in front of him, goofy smile seemingly lighting up the whole world.

“Ah, Papyrus! I had no idea you were here!” he told the skeleton, a lie he had practiced too often. “It really is so good to see you.”

In response, the overly excited scooped the robot up into his arms for a far too tight hug, as the pair swung around. “I WAS HOPING I WOULD SEE YOU,” Papyrus said as he sat the robot down, his smile so genuine that it could warm even the coldest heart. “I SAW YOUR ARM FLY OFF ON TV AND CAME STRAIGHT OVER TO SEE IF YOU WERE OKAY!”

Mettaton smiled back, giving a mechanical laugh. “Oh darling, I’m fine,” he promised, placing a hand on the skeleton’s shoulder for reassurance. Suddenly, he hesitated, realising that Papyrus hadn’t originally been there like he had been told. He had torn off his arm for nothing! “Wait, you raced over here? Where were you originally?”

Papyrus gave a laugh, clearly not noticing the uncomfortable expression the robot suddenly wore. “I HAD A SURPRISE LESSON WITH UNDYNE,” he said. “SANS WAS WATCHING THE TV IN THE OTHER ROOM AND THAT’S WHEN I HEARD YOU WERE HURT!”

The robot’s expression softened, black lips curling up in a gentle smile. He couldn’t help but notice that Alphys had slipped back into the lab, leaving the pair to talk alone. “Undyne must not have appreciated that,” Mettaton commented, lifting his broken limb up to his face so he could laugh. “Perhaps I should let you return?”

Before Mettaton even had time for his soul to sink, Papyrus interupted. “NO!” he shouted far too loudly, before pulling himself back and giving a nervous cough. There was obvious beads of sweat dripping down his skull. “ACTUALLY, SHE PROBABLY WOULD KILL ME IF I DID,” he admitted. 

Mettaton raised an eyebrow, curious about the faint blush climbing up the skeleton’s features. “Why would she do that?” he asked quizzically, confused by the sudden nervousness radiating off the skeleton.

“BECAUSE I WASN’T HAVING A COOKING LESSON,” he started slowly, eyes falling to the ground. Mettaton gazed at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. “I WAS HAVING A… DATING LESSON.”

Uh oh. Mettaton felt his systems heating up, a faint glow forming on his own cheeks. Curse Alphys for programming him with such realistic reactions. “A… dating… lesson?” he asked slowly, staring in disbelief at the skeleton before him.

“YES,” Papyrus confirmed, taking a deep breath in an effort to regain his confidence. “AND SHE WOULD KILL ME IF I DIDN’T PUT OUR FIRST LESSON INTO EFFECT AND… WELL, CONFESS MY FEELINGS FOR YOU.”

Finally, Papyrus looked up, and the pair stood there gawking at each other. Mettaton wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, suddenly scared about the confession he was about to receive. Sure, it sounded good, but it was too good to be true.

Before Mettaton could figure out how to react, Papyrus pulled out a piece of paper from inside his scarf, reading over it a few times before replacing it. The robot guessed they were instructions.

“ALRIGHT, I THINK I’VE GOT THIS,” Papyrus proclaimed, placing a hand over his ribcage as he began to speak. “METTATON, I THINK THAT YOU ARE VERY GREAT. MAYBE EVEN AS GREAT AS ME! AND TOGETHER, I THINK WE COULD MAYBE EVEN BE GREATER! IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO BE SURE ABOUT THIS, BUT EVERYONE HAS ASSURED ME THAT WHAT I FEEL FOR YOU IS DEFINITELY ROMANTIC. SO I THINK, WE SHOULD SEE MORE OF EACH OTHER! ASSUMING YOU WANT TO, THAT IS, BUT WHY WOULDN- MMFF!”

The ranting skeleton was silenced in an instant, as metalic lips pressed themselves against his teeth. It took him a moment to process the action, but by the time he realised to press back, Mettaton was already moving away. There was a gleam in his eye that was foreign to the skeleton, and suddenly the pair both wished that the robot hadn’t broken off his own arm. All Mettaton wanted to do was embrace the skeleton, but holding a limb was taking up more space than he expected it to.

Still, he gave a smile, that was so bright that Papyrus was sure it could light up the whole underground.

“I’d like to spend more time together, too,” Mettaton confessed, his cheeks a light pink as he spoke. “I’d like that a lot.”


End file.
